ZFC recommends rinsing in boiling water only - well he actually said often that’s a waste of the power required to boil the kettle - but I also like to only put clean chains in the pot, so after a dirty off road ride I’ll agitate it in boiling water and a bit of washing up liquid, which seems to get more black stuff out than water alone.
I wouldn’t use ufo clean for that though, as it’ll contaminate it for reuse.
10 minutes and done.
$36/16 = $2.25 per strip.
Could I do it cheaper? Sure. Do I care to? Nah.
A key component to this announcement is the Starter Pack that lets anyone try drip waxing without removing their chain. Then decide if they want to move up to hot wax treatments.
Either way you run quieter, go faster, and extend the life of your expensive chain and chainrings.
I picked up a bottle yesterday, my LBS already had it. First uses will be to strip the chains on my kids bikes and wife’s commuter, none of which have quick links on the chain. Psyched to finally convert those to drip wax and get rid of dirty oily chains for good.
You’re disposing of grease either way.
But after the initial degreasing, if you’re stripping wax, you’re not dumping grease. You’re dumping wax.
People are using cleaners for already waxed chains? I thought the whole point was that after the initial cleaning the wax and debris will come off with boiling water - then you can put it straight in the hot melt.
I just pour boiling water from a tea kettle when I’m ready to re-wax or it’s gone through an especially dirty ride and it returns it to factory steel. Just wipe with a microfiber cloth and goes back in.
Yes, most useful if cleaning the chain on the bike.
Boiling water is great, but not so much when poured on the bike. It’s possible, but risking the bearings more than a quick application of cleaner, IME.
For already waxed chains I just put them into boiling water to clean off any embedded crud and then into the wax pot. Doesn’t use any solvents past the initial cleaning. Of course, I clean the chain off the bike.
Yep, as do I - which is a step further than ZFC recommend (wipe it down and lob it in).
(from the waxing FAQ, btw)
Right. I wasn’t thinking about doing this on the bike. Once I bought master link pliers I take it on/off all the time
I’ve converted 20+ people to wax lube, they all love it - not one has gone as far as immersive, yet!
UFO Clean and drip wax lubes are their best friends (and amazingly effective for that use case)
I’ve been using UFO Clean and UFO Lube drip wax for 18 months and no reason to go immersive!
When my supply runs out, based on price and current feedback, I’ll either buy UFO again, or Silca’s Ultimate Stripper + drip wax, or something else that gets introduced between now and then.
Agreed, even looking at the ZFC numbers you’re talking 3-4% extra wear per 1000k if you’re riding dry weather only. Wet weather the gap goes up massively!
Northern California is pretty dry.
Correct, but Silca is ignoring that once their product is contaminated with said grease, it is no longer biodegradable. Their marketing is telling people ‘it fine to dump it down the drain’ when in reality, if you’re using the product, it isn’t.
Escape Collective hasn’t formally reviewed Ceramicspeed’s wet conditions lube. But on a recent podcast, it did not work well for two of their staff. It’s possible this was a production issue and the stuff that gets to the store will be slightly different.
Had a quick listen and that doesn’t sound good. Their mislabelled bottle theory sounds plausible, maybe the indoor lube got mixed with the wet!
lol ok I love Silca but this almost reads like a joke. sometimes I think Silca I do feel Silca is just pushing sales and then one in particular seems a bit ridiculous. .5% is within a margin of error …
Yep Silca is beyond the pale. This is like buying monster cables at best buy in the 2000s.
